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Alignments in light of other parts are cheap and will allow the car to drive better, thus helping your overall driving. Regardless of your level, a proper alignment will always help, for you know then that the car is setup to do stuff properly (within reason) and thus you aren't compensating for crazy toe out or the like because you have no idea where it is set.

That being said, biggest improvements will be with technique and seat time, but don't every overlook a baseline alignment. - AB

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'14 Toyota Sequoia Platinum 4WD
Super Westerfield Bros - '93 Integra - LeChump Du Jour
STX 93 - Scion FR-S

Yea, I should have qualified "stupid".

I use *small* "stupid stock class stuff" to tweak the car at an event if I feel it is off. I might change air pressures by a few pounds, turn my shocks a small amount or soften the rear sway bar a click or 2 but that's about it. If you're at the point where you are making huge changes (or doing things that are considered at the extreme end of an adjustment) to get the car to do what you want, it is definitely time to take a step back and reevaluate your overall setup.

I would get the car comfortable to drive and call it a day. You will learn a bunch more by just driving the car than if you are constantly playing with it between events. My first year with the CRX I did just that. I tossed a basic suspension on it and after a few events of "sorting", I quit playing with it and just drove. The car was stupid loose but I've learned to deal with it and as I've tightened the car up over the past few months, it's just gotten faster. Incidentally, my current setup is much different than what most of the STS2 CRX guys are currently running which goes to show there is more than one way to go fast, relatively speaking.

Jim

You guys have much more experience than I do, but I agree with the above and in my mind the main thing about getting the car "comfortable to drive" is getting to the point that you feel you can trust the car.

I am probably projecting my own issues that I faced with my car on Jeb, but for a good year if I tried to pushed myself (i.e. go faster) that the car would be a bit scary and unpredictable at the limit. This resulted in me usually spinning at least once if not twice during an event. That also resulted in me not driving near the limit due to the evil handling. After I changed a few things on the car it was more predictable at the limit and I felt more comfortable with exploring those limits.

Point being, you can't drive a car that you don't trust. And even if you have a lot to learn on the driving side of the equation, having a good setup is going to let you learn faster.

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Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.com
Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.

All I'm saying is to just set it and forget it, instead of tweaking the toe-out or camber or whatever all the time as others have recommended. What Mike recommended is about what I've always used on my Subarus (as far as I know, anyway - see below).

I've also never, ever paid anybody to do an alignment on my silver 2.5RS. Always done them at home with jackstands and string - and how accurate do YOU think that is? Won a top gun trophy with it (the other one was won with a similarly-aligned blue 2.5RS), won every rallyx I've done with it. Yeah, camber is a good thing to have to keep from killing your front tires & to help a little with front grip, but the "perfect" alignment isn't going to drive the car for you.

I'd say just keep it simple and do the zero toe, -2.5 front camber, -1.5 rear camber at this point. Any little tweaks on that the morning of (or during) events, and you're just wasting time you could be spending on course walks or asking Feinberg questions.

Speaking of the Top Gun trophy, where does it currently reside?

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

Spratte - and I'm thinking he's going to win it again this year.

I still have a shot. Spratte might be in trouble. - AB

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'14 Toyota Sequoia Platinum 4WD
Super Westerfield Bros - '93 Integra - LeChump Du Jour
STX 93 - Scion FR-S

I think I may have the actual trophy stashed in the storage area under my stairs. I totally forgot I had the thing. I'll look for it in the morning.

I seem to remember one of my cats being very interested in it which is how it wound up under the stairs. Don't worry, it's nothing that a little "wood bondo" and a fresh coat of stain won't clear up. Actually, he didn't do much to it but there is definitely a few little scratches on one of the posts. I thought about wrapping the thing in carpet so the cats could go to town but they decided they didn't like the PAX system either and won't come near it anymore.

I can bring it to Laurinburg and turn it over to its current rightful owner.

Speaking of the rightful owner, Spratte is going down! Actually, I'll probably miss at least 3 Tarheel events this year so probably not but a boy can dream, can't he?

Jim

I've got one word for you Buckley: Bridgestone



Jim

Hey Jeb, for whatever it's worth. I've found over the years that it's not camber, it's toe that kills tires on the street. Especially if you're autocrossing on the same tires you drive around on (it's an STS car right?), you'll kill the tires autocrossing before the alignment will be a problem.

[opinion]

As some of the others have said, I don't know Mazda 3s at all. But when setting up my old Integra when it was "Stock-ish" (lowering springs, Konis, large rear bar) I ran whatever camber that netted me (2.5 degrees or thereabouts), and a little toe out all the way around. Maybe 1/16 front and 1/8 rear. I always set that car up to be as loose as I could make it. Fast FWD cars you want them to be impossibly, evil loose at turn in. That way at or before the apex you can be full throttle and the car will still turn. And, it *forces* you to be on the throttle a lot, which is always good.

Do note that setting the car up to be evil like this can make transitions a little, um, "interesting" if you don't have a strong set of dampers on the car. It'll very quickly start to "oscillate" and pendelum back and forth some, and if you catch it, good for you. But you probably won't. Ask Scott about what my old Integra was like to autocross...

[/opinion]

That's just me though, and I'm not much of a setup guy. I do seem to take to oversteering cars though - the Integra was well known for being evil, and the S2000 can certainly catch you out if you're cornering and the cam timing changes mid corner.

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Karl S.
2014 Baby, 2014 House, 2013 Ford Focus ST, 2013 BMW 328i, 1994 Mercedes E320
(Insert passive aggressive signature line here)

I used to think that, nay preach that. Then I had this with 1.5* negative camber in the front. Twice (1x 712s, 1x ZE-512s). Gotta love that inside edge cord.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.

Wow! What the hell did that?!?!

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Silver Honda
Green Ford
Blue/White Suzuki
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Grey BMW

"Never let life be shaped by fear of its end"

No, you're a towel!

I still think that and my personal observations seem to match.

That looks like some other issue. Are you sure everything in your front end was OK? Bad bushing/ball joint/etc?

Were these tires strictly driven on the street and never AutoX'd (or driven aggressively on)?

Jim

I was kind of thinking the same thing Jim. Wear from camber, from my experience, isn't a narrow ridge around the inside of the tire, like the pictures show. That screams to me "toe problem." Whether caused by the alignment or some other problem with the car, it still looks like a whole crapton of toe out to me...

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Karl S.
2014 Baby, 2014 House, 2013 Ford Focus ST, 2013 BMW 328i, 1994 Mercedes E320
(Insert passive aggressive signature line here)

Thing is that the car has zero toe in the front. Unless it's getting some kind of dynamic toe under braking, I don't understand it. It's not rubbing on anything. Unless something is wonky due to the lowering of the car.

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Has no responsibility whatsoever.